CACTS staff organised a birthday surprise for outgoing Provost, Professor C.O. Oshun

By Michael Adetunji

In the early hours of Friday, July 26, 2024, the Main Campus staff of the Christ Apostolic Church Theological Seminary (CACTS), Ile Ife, took the outgoing Provost, Pastor Professor Christopher Olubunmi Oshun by surprise as they celebrated his 75^th birthday.

The celebration which took place in the conference room of Pastor Mediayese’s building, CACTS, Ile Ife, with staff and a few students in attendance, featured prayers, homages, and songs of praise to God for a life well spent in academia and active ministerial service.

The Deputy Provost, Pastor Dr Moses Oluwaniyi who exhorted the audience from Psalm 150 said the Bible instructs everything that has breath to praise the Lord. Appreciating God for sparing the life of the celebrator, Pastor Oluwaniyi described Professor Oshun as a man who has made history, leaving the CAC Theological Seminary with a positive landmark.

The celebrator, Professor Oshun reacted by expressing his awe with great joy of fulfilment and appreciation to God as he clocked 75.  With a reminiscence of how God has been gracious to him since birth, he said he is a child of grace, he came to the Seminary with an abundance of grace, and the same he is leaving behind—that the God of grace continues to be with the Seminary.   Professor Oshun appreciated the staff and students present for the initiative to celebrate him.

Pastor Professor C.O. Oshun was born in Lagos, Nigeria on July 26, 1949. He bagged a B.A. (Hons) in Religious Studies from the University of Ibadan in 1973; and proceeded for a one-year postgraduate programme at the same University. Bunmi Oshun as he is fondly called, got married to his beautiful heartthrob, Grace Okaima, in August 1975 before proceeding to the University of Birmingham for a Master of Arts degree in Theology, which he bagged in 1976. He obtained a PhD in Theology from the University of Exeter in 1981 and was ordained a Pastor by the authority of Christ Apostolic Church in September 1984.

Professor Oshun has a wealth of teaching, research, administrative and managerial experience, having worked at the University of Ibadan as an academic staff member from 1981 to 1984 and as a Senior Lecturer at Lagos State University (LASU) from 1984 until his promotion to Associate Professor and then as Professor of Church History and Christian Studies in 1992. At LASU, he served in top administrative duties where he played a significant role in the growth and development of the University. In LASU, Professor Oshun served as pioneer Chaplain for seventeen (17) years, Dean of Postgraduate School, acting Vice-Chancellor, and Chair of several committees, among many others.

From 2006 to 2011, Professor Oshun was the foundation Vice-Chancellor of Joseph Ayo Babalola University (JABU), Ikeji Arakeji and he returned to LASU after a successful tenure, where he retired in 2014.

The academic don is a member of several academic and professional bodies such as the International Association for Mission Studies (IAMS); the National Association for Christian Studies (NACS); the Association of Nigerian Church Historians (ANCH); West African Association of Theological Institutions (WAATI); the Nigerian Association for the Study of Religions (NASR); Conference of African Theological Institutions (CATI); and Organisation of African Instituted Churches (OAIC). Most recent among his numerous distinctions (including scholarships, fellowships, awards and prizes) are Grand Patron, National Association for Christian Studies (NACS); Foundation Fellow, Nigerian Academy of Pastoral Counsellors; Foundation Patron, Nigerian Academy of Church History and Missiology; Foundation Patron, Nigerian Association of Church History and Missions; Ambassador of Music of the Association of Nigerian Musicologists (ANIM), just to mention a few.

As an important figure to reckon with, Professor Oshun was appointed the Provost of CACTS by its proprietor where he served from January 1, 2021, to July 26, 2024, upon attaining the age of mandatory retirement upheld by the constitution of CAC. To celebrate the iconic milestone of Professor Oshun, the Governing Council of CACTS chaired by Pastor Dr G.S. Dada has scheduled a sendoff and retirement service in his honour. The event will be held on Tuesday, September 24, 2024, at the Chapel of Peace of CACTS, Ile Ife, by 10 am.

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